quote:
Originally posted by PublicBJ on 12-22-1999 04:26 PM
One important factor is frequently the player may muff the pass, put does push the ball towards the floor to bounce it and gain better control. That pushing of the ball to the floor is player control, and counts as a dribble.
By rule, it can't be. A dribble is started by a player already in player control. That means that before his push to the floor can be considered a dribble, he must have already held the ball (or dribbled previously). If the ball comes to rest in his hand prior to the push, then you have player control and it is the start of a dribble. If the ball never came to rest in his hand, no matter how much he seems to "control" the push, it is not a dribble. The pertinent rules are 4-15-1 which defines a dribble and says it is caused by a player in control, and 4-12-1, which defines player control.
I used this interpretation once to determine a no-call on an over and back when a player smacked a rebound all the way into the backcourt where it was recovered by a teammate. Even though he directed it that way, he never "held" the ball, so there was never any player control, therefore no team control established after the original try. The other team's coach complained, but what else is new?